Great Big Beautiful Life

This novel is a bit of a departure from Henry's other works, blending family saga and a little mystery with romance. How did you feel about the mix of genres?

If the book were longer, would you have preferred more development of Henry and Alice's relationship, or would you have liked to explore more of Margaret and her family's history? If the latter, which chapter of their epic family saga interested you most?

How the structure of the novel, weaving between Margaret's story and Alice and Hayden's developing relationship, add to the narrative?

Do you relate more to Alice's optimism and happiness or to Hayden's directness and pragmatism? How do you think these contrasting personalities complemented each other?

What did you think of Alice and Hayden's love story? What drew them to each other, and were you rooting for them as a couple? Did their connection feel authentic, or did it develop too quickly for your taste?

Both Alice and Hayden have loving but complicated relationships with their parents. Did you relate to their struggles with parental expectations? How did these relationships shape who they became?

Have you ever wanted to be extremely wealthy and/or famous? Did Margaret and her family's story change your perspective on wealth and fame at all?

A central theme of the novel is that there are always three versions of stories: "yours, mine and the truth." Do you agree with this perspective? How does this theme play out in different storylines throughout the book?

In an NPR interview, Henry stated that she wanted to see "how we could explore our own personal sense of legacy by looking at these larger-than-life, storied, dynastic families and tracing the way that love and grief, especially, are passed down from generation to generation, each generation sort of reacting to what it did or didn't get and needed." Did this exploration of legacy resonate with you? How did different generations of the Ives family react to the generation before? Do you see patterns in your own family history?

Henry drew inspiration from real life storied families such as the Kennedys, Hearsts, Pulitzers, the British Royals -- and Rebecca Harkness, the subject of Taylor Swift's song "Last Great American Dynasty" -- in creating the Ives family. Did you recognize glimmers of any of these references? Were there any other stories that the Ives reminded you of?

The novel explores love and sacrifice. What are Henry and Alice willing to do for one another? How do their choices compare to other romantic pairings in the book, particularly Margaret's parents or Margaret and Cosmo?

Did you predict the twist at the end? What clues did the author leave throughout the narrative? How did the twist tie different strands of the novel together?

What would you have done in Alice's shoes when you discovered the truth from Margaret? What did you think of how she handled the situation?

BIG SPOILER: Did Margaret's reasons for giving her child up for adoption make sense to you? What were your thoughts about her decision? How did that decision reverberate in her life for years to come?

Are you tall or short? Could you relate to Alice and Hayden constantly knocking knees? Have you ever been in a relationship with a significant height difference, and if so, how did it affect your dynamic?

Which bar, restaurant, or diner on Little Crescent or the mainland would you most like to visit?

Do you buy art when you go on beach vacations? Is it ever turtle art?

If you've read other books by this author, how does "Great Big Beautiful Life" compare? Which of her works has been your favorite so far?